Dairy Profits Drop 91 Percent Amidst Plant-Based Boom

Dairy brand Dean Foods bets on plant-based investments to get it out of a financial slump.

Dairy brand Dean Foods released its third quarter fiscal report this week, which showed a 91-percent drop in profits. While Dean Foods—the parent company of dairy brand Dairy Pure—reported an income of $14.53 million last year, the company made only $1.38 million this year, with a net sales slip to $1.94 billion compared to $1.96 billion last year. “Our initiatives to build strong brands and diversify our portfolio will build brand equity on Dairy Pure through new product innovation and enhanced consumer marketing,” Dean Foods CEO Ralph Scozzafava said. The company is diversifying its dairy portfolio with plant-based brands to tap into the vegan market. Earlier this summer, Dean Foods invested a minority stake in flax-based vegan brand Good Karma Foods, a move the company hopes will see a return in coming months. A new report released last week by market research firm Packaged Facts showed that the non-dairy sector is making significant gains on its dairy counterpart—projected to represent 40 percent of the compounded dairy and nondairy sector in 2021, up from 25 percent in 2016.